Written Answers Monday 10 November 2008

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of alcohol-related hospital admissions in 2006 and 2007 were repeat admissions.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of repeat discharges is currently unavailable for the calendar year 2007. Table 1 provides the percentages of repeat discharges with an alcohol-related diagnosis from general acute hospitals in the financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07. Information is based on discharge records rather than admissions.

  Table 1. Number of Discharges1 and Percentage of Repeat Discharges from General Acute Hospitals2 with an Alcohol-Related Diagnosis; Scotland 2005-06 to 2006-07

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Total number of Discharges
 40,626
 42,262


 Readmissions (%)
 30
 31



  Notes

  1. A repeat discharge is defined as a discharge with an alcohol-related diagnosis for a patient who has previously been discharged from hospital with such a diagnosis earlier in the same year. The total includes multiple repeat discharges for patients with more than two discharges in one year.

  2. Caution is necessary when interpreting these figures. The recording of alcohol misuse may vary from hospital to hospital. Where alcohol misuse is suspected but unconfirmed it may not be recorded by the hospital.

  3. Excludes psychiatric hospitals and maternity hospitals. Transfers are also excluded. Includes Scottish residents only.

Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-12371 by Shona Robison on 9 May 2008, how many of the 1,094 under-18s admitted to hospital accident and emergency departments suffering from alcohol-related problems were referred to alcohol counselling or support services.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to accident and emergency departments on whether under-18s admitted suffering from alcohol-related problems should be referred to alcohol counselling or support services.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has not issued any such guidance. These are decisions made by clinicians on the basis of their own clinical judgement and on a case-by-case basis.

Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to police forces on whether under-18s admitted suffering from alcohol-related problems should be referred to alcohol counselling or support services.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has not provided any such guidance to police forces.

Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-12371 by Shona Robison on 9 May 2008, what targets it has in place and what action it is taking to reduce the number of under-18s admitted to hospital accident and emergency departments suffering from alcohol-related problems.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has no central target in place in relation to this.

  In June 2008, we published our discussion document Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol which outlined a robust package of measures to tackle alcohol misuse. We are currently analysing the responses to this consultation and our next steps will be announced early in 2009.

Animal Welfare

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish the results of its consultation on the use, sale, distribution and possession of electronic training aids, which closed on 30 November 2007.

Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16565 on 9 October 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Animal Welfare

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to make regulations under sections 26 and 27 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to ban the use of electric shock collars.

Richard Lochhead: A consultation seeking views and evidence on the use of electronic training aids was issued last year and the responses showed that the arguments were finely balanced but inconclusive. There is insufficient evidence at this stage to support a ban. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have commissioned research by the Companion Animal Welfare Council and the Universities of Lincoln and Bristol, both due to report in 2010. Therefore, we shall defer a decision on whether to impose a ban until the results of this research are available as that will allow us to reach a decision informed on sound scientific evidence.

Animal Welfare

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish the results of the consultation on the Draft Dog Welfare Code of Practice, which closed on 1 May 2008.

Richard Lochhead: The responses to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the draft Dog Welfare Code of Practice have, where the respondents have agreed to their responses being made public, been placed in the Scottish Government library. A summary of these responses will be published on the Scottish Government’s website before Christmas 2008.

Bees

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who advises it on issues relating to honeybees.

Richard Lochhead: The Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture and the Scottish Agricultural College advise the Scottish Government on issues relating to honey bees in Scotland. Information is also shared with other administrations and the National Bee Unit.

Benefits

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the support it is giving to organisations that help pensioners and the low paid to access benefits to which they are entitled and how this compares with the previous three years.

Stewart Maxwell: We are currently supporting a pilot campaign with Age Concern Scotland to encourage older people to take up the financial support, including benefits, tax credits, and other awards, such as help with heating costs, to which they are entitled. This is the first campaign specifically targeted at older people or the low paid which we have supported. Local government supports a wide range of services, through which older people and the low paid can access help, though these do not necessarily focus specifically on those groups. These include welfare rights services and money advice agencies. Some third sector organisations such as housing associations also provide support to access financial support alongside their other activities.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations on any aspect of the provision of public or privately-funded academies or schools based on a particular faith or religion and, if so, what the nature of those representations was and from whom they were received.

Fiona Hyslop: Ministers receive as a matter or course, a wealth of representations relating to denominational schools in the public and private sectors, expressing a range of opinions. Ultimately, under the terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, the responsibility for the provision of publicly funded schools is for local authorities. It is for them to determine the type of schools they provide which should reflect local circumstances and demand.

Fisheries

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effect of a ban on the discard of elasmobranches and whether it would consider excluding such types of fish from any such ban.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not believe that targeted fisheries on vulnerable elasmobranches should be allowed. Equally the Scottish Government does not support measures that will inevitably lead to discarding. Therefore, the Scottish Government is looking for measures which will allow small unavoidable bycatches to be landed whilst preventing any targeted fishing from occurring.

Fisheries

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there should be a zero-catch quota for elasmobranches, in light of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advice on such types of fish.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government agrees with the ICES advice that there should be no directed fisheries on these species. However, a zero total allowable catch in a mixed fishery in which elasmobranches are an unavoidable bycatch will inevitably lead to discards. Therefore the Scottish Government supports the development of measures which will prevent the targeted fishing of these stocks from occurring whilst allowing small unavoidable bycatches to be landed.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the progress from 50% to 56% in admitting patients with strokes to specialist units, when it expects the target figure of 70% to be reached.

Nicola Sturgeon: We welcome the progress across Scotland as a whole, in terms of patients admitted to a stroke unit within one day of presentation at hospital, from 51% in 2005 to 56% in 2007.

  Each NHS board has been asked to identify the actions that are being taken where the Scottish Stroke Care Audit has identified the need for improvement. Responses from each board are due by 21 November.

Health

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are made for patients requiring specialised medical treatment available only in hospitals in England.

Nicola Sturgeon: The arrangements for Scottish patients requiring access to specialised medical treatment which is only available in England are managed on behalf of NHSScotland by National Services Division (NSD). Specialised services provided in England are funded through two distinct funding streams:

  For a designated UK national specialist service, NSD commissions the service through the National Commissioning Group in England to ensure that Scottish residents have the same access as those from England. These arrangement cover services for very rare conditions which are only available at a few sites in the UK.

  A national financial risk sharing scheme is in place for ad hoc referrals to other specialised services in England which are not nationally designated. Currently, 35 services are included in the specialised services definitions set. These services are not commissioned by NSD, rather funded through NSD on behalf of NHS boards. Referrals to specialist services in England are made by secondary or tertiary hospital specialists in appropriate disciplines. It is the responsibility of the Director of Public Health of the NHS board of the patient’s residence to approve all such referrals.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £54 million to be allocated over the next three years to tackle healthcare associated infection can be specifically identified for programmes within NHS Tayside.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16255 on 22 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Healthcare Associated Infection

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the target set for NHS boards of a 30% reduction in the rate of Clostridium difficile in people over 65 by 2011 will be accompanied by additional allocations to NHS boards outwith the £54 million already to be allocated over the next three years to tackle healthcare associated infection.

Nicola Sturgeon: Additional funding to support the new target of up to £2 million is being made available to NHS boards from within the resources provided to tackle healthcare associated infection in Scotland.

Housing

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish details of the care and repair scheme to be in place from April 2009.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is working with the Care and Repair Forum on ways to support the Care and Repair movement to adapt to the implementation of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Statutory guidance on the act is expected to be issued in early 2009. However, it is for each local authority to decide how its Care and Repair project should operate, in cooperation with its local community and delivery partners.

International Relations

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) meetings and (b) correspondence it has had with representatives of Iceland, Ireland and Norway regarding the causes of, and action needed to resolve, current economic crises.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government places great importance on Scotland’s relationships in Europe, and engages on an ongoing basis with Ireland, Iceland and Norway, along with a range of European partners, across a variety of areas, including those relating to the economy. At the 11th summit of the British Irish Council in September 2008, for example, the First Minister, the Taoiseach and other participants discussed the global economic crisis amongst other issues. The outcome of these discussions is recorded in the communiqué of the summit which was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46719). On 12 October 2008 the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism visited Norway for talks on energy matters.

  The Scottish Government is committed to doing everything within its power to encourage investment in and development of the Scottish economy and help businesses and individuals. We are taking forward an extensive package of measures through the Scottish Economic Recovery plan, and will continue to review our actions and spending in light of this plan.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of subsidy has been provided to civil court business in each of the last five years.

Fergus Ewing: 2003-04
(£ Million)
2004-05
(£ Million)
2005-06
(£ Million)
2006-07
(£ Million)
2007-08
(£ Million)


 Supreme Courts
 
 
 
 
 


 Annual Subsidy
 5.5
 6.5
 7.8
 6.4
 6.4


 % Subsidy
 27%
 66%
 66%
 62%
 71%


 Sheriff Courts
 
 
 
 
 


 Annual Subsidy
 5.2
 5.2
 5.7
 7.8
 9.4


 % Subsidy
 32%
 31%
 31%
 39%
 42%


 Total
 
 
 
 
 


 Annual Subsidy
 10.7
 11.6
 13.5
 14.2
 15.8


 % Subsidy
 43%
 43%
 45%
 47%
 50%



  Sources:

  Consultation paper on review of fees charged by the Court of Session, Sheriff Courts, Office of the Public Guardian, Accountant of Court and High Court, 11 February 2008.

  Scottish Court Service Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of subsidy it is projected will be provided to civil court business in each year until 2011.

Fergus Ewing: The consultation paper of 11 February 2008 published by the Scottish Court Service projected the following subsidy levels arising from the proposals.

  

 
2008-09 (£ Million)
2009-10 (£ Million)
2010-11 (£ Million)


 Supreme Courts
 
 
 


 Annual Subsidy
 3.2
 2.4
 2.6


 % Subsidy
 39%
 29%
 31%


 Sheriff Courts
 
 
 


 Annual Subsidy
 4.6
 4.0
 4.5


 % Subsidy
 21%
 18%
 20%


 Total
 
 
 


 Annual Subsidy
 7.8
 6.4
 7.1


 % Subsidy
 26%
 21%
 22%



  These proposals were modified marginally as a result of the consultation, subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the increases implemented from 1 August 2008. At this stage there are no grounds to assume that the projections will materially change.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what fee exemptions are available for individuals to access justice in the civil courts.

Fergus Ewing: Fees are not payable by a person if:

  (a) the person or his or her partner is in receipt of income support under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

  (b) the person is in receipt of an income based jobseeker’s allowance (payable under the Jobseekers Act 1995);

  (c) the person is in receipt of civil legal aid within the meaning of section 13(2) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 in respect of the matter in the Table of Fees in connection with which the fee is payable;

  (d) the fee is payable in connection with a simplified divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership application and the person is in receipt of advice and assistance from a solicitor under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 in respect of that application;

  (e) the person’s solicitor is undertaking work in relation to the matter in the Table of Fees in connection with which the fee is payable on the basis of any regulations made under section 36 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 providing for legal aid in a matter of special urgency;

  (f) the person or his or her partner is in receipt of guarantee credit under the State Pension Credit Act 2002, or

  (g) the person or his or her partner is in receipt of working tax credit, provided that–

  (i) child tax credit is being paid to the party, or otherwise following a claim for child tax credit made jointly by the members of a couple (as defined in section 3(5A) of the Tax Credits Act 2002) which includes the party, or

  (ii) there is a disability element or severe disability element (or both) to the tax credit received by the party, and that the gross annual income taken into account for the calculation of the working tax credit is £16,017 or less.

  These provisions are set out in the relevant fees orders:

  Sheriff Court Fee Amendment Order 2008 SSI 2008 No.239

  http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2008/ssi_20080239_en_1.

  Court of Session Fee Amendment Order 2008 SSI 2008 No.236

  http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2008/ssi_20080236_en_1.

  High Court of Justiciary Fee Amendment Order 2008 SSI 2008 No.237

  http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2008/ssi_20080237_en_1.

  In addition, from 27 October 2008 exemption from payment of fees will be extended to those in receipt of Income Based Employment Support Allowance.

NHS Finance

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline potential efficiency savings to NHS boards and local authorities arising from greater integration of services such as payroll, finance, management, human resources, procurement, estate and asset management and maintenance.

Nicola Sturgeon: Specific efficiency savings targets for national initiatives in NHS Scotland have been set as follows:

  

 
2008-09 (£ Million)
2009-10 (£ Million)
2010-11 (£ Million)


 NHS Procurement
 18
 36
 54


 NHS Shared Support Services
 1.5
 2.6
 2.8



  In addition, as part of the NHS 2% efficiency savings targets for NHS boards of £154 million in 2008-09, £313.9 million in 2009-10 and £478.4 million in 2010-11, various efficiency projects in local support services and estates and facilities are being undertaken.

  It is for local authorities to decide on the best way to deliver their efficiencies.

  The Scottish Government is working with the public sector, including local government, NHS boards, and executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to take forward a shared services agenda. Shared services should be about simplifying, standardising and then sharing. Across the public sector there are examples of significant work being undertaken to simplify and standardise which should identify the opportunities to share effectively. The Scottish Government is supporting the public sector in identifying those opportunities based on evidence of efficiency and effectiveness to ensure the solutions supported can deliver real benefits to organisations and the public. This extends to both back office and front line service delivery. The Efficiency Outturn Report for 2007-08 published on 31 October 2008 gives information on efficiency savings delivered to date:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/10/Outturn2008.

NHS Hospitals

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what attendance levels were at accident and emergency departments at (a) Monklands and (b) Ayr hospitals in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08, broken down into quarters.

Nicola Sturgeon: Accident and Emergency attendance information for Monklands and Ayr Hospitals in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under accident and emergency waiting times.

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=A_and_E_Aug08.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

  This information is collected at boards by the nationally procured EDIS system (or compliant local system) which was implemented in April 2006. Comparable data for 2005-06 are not available.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have fully implemented Agenda for Change.

Nicola Sturgeon: Implementation of Agenda for Change is on-going in Scotland and no NHS board has fully implemented all aspects of the new system. However, all boards are working to a timetable of having all substantive staff assimilated to the new pay system by the end of this year. At the same time boards are also conducting reviews for those staff who have requested a review of their banding. In addition, boards are focussing on the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) ensuring that all staff have a job outline and Personal Development Plan in place which will form the basis of their annual development review. Once all these elements of the process have been completed, Agenda for Change can be regarded as fully implemented.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards had fully implemented Agenda for Change by October 2005.

Nicola Sturgeon: No NHS board in Scotland had fully implemented Agenda for Change by October 2005. Implementation of Agenda for Change is an on-going process which comprises a number of elements, all of which are being taken forward in partnership with the trade unions. All boards are working to a timetable of having all substantive staff assimilated to the new pay system by the end of this year. At the same time boards are also conducting reviews for those staff who have requested a review of their banding. In addition, boards are focussing on the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) ensuring that all staff have a job outline and Personal Development Plan in place which will form the basis of their annual development review. Once all these elements of the process have been completed, Agenda for Change can be regarded as fully implemented.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards had fully implemented Agenda for Change by May 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: No NHS board in Scotland had fully implemented Agenda for Change by May 2007. Implementation of Agenda for Change is an on-going process which comprises a number of elements, all of which are being taken forward in partnership with the trade unions. All boards are working to a timetable of having all substantive staff assimilated to the new pay system by the end of this year. At the same time boards are also conducting reviews for those staff who have requested a review of their banding. In addition, boards are focussing on the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) ensuring that all staff have a job outline and Personal Development Plan in place which will form the basis of their annual development review. Once all these elements of the process have been completed, Agenda for Change can be regarded as fully implemented.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated completion date is for the Agenda for Change matching and review process for allied health professionals.

Nicola Sturgeon: All boards are working to a timetable of having matching and assimilation completed for all substantive staff by the end of the year. At the same time, boards are conducting reviews for those staff who have requested a review of their banding outcome. The timetable for dealing with reviews will be decided in partnership locally by each board.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many on-going appeals on decisions made under Agenda for Change are being considered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Nicola Sturgeon: Figures at September 2008 show that 8,823 members of staff covering 3,404 posts have requested reviews of their banding outcomes in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when physiotherapy staff employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde can expect their Agenda for Change review process to be completed.

Nicola Sturgeon: Reviews are being conducted in partnership locally. I understand that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde plan to conduct reviews grouped by "job family" and will start with the largest job families first. As such, Allied Health Professions, the heading that covers physiotherapists, will be the third tranche to be considered. I understand the board anticipate commencing the reviews for this staff group in February 2009. We also understand from the board that they hope to complete this relatively quickly, considering this is a small staff group.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when nursing staff employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde can expect their Agenda for Change review process to be completed.

Nicola Sturgeon: Reviews are being conducted in partnership locally. I understand that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde plan to conduct reviews grouped by "job family", starting with the larger job families first. As such, nurses and midwives will be the second tranche to be considered. I understand the board anticipate having these completed by the end of March 2009.

NHS Staff

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of staff employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is awaiting salary changes due under Agenda for Change reforms.

Nicola Sturgeon: As at September 2008 the number of substantive NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde staff awaiting assimilation was 381, which represents 0.8 % of the substantive staff workforce covered by Agenda for Change. This particular group of staff are those people who have moved post a number of times and are therefore more difficult and complex cases which take longer to conclude. In addition, there are 6,293 bank staff who will move across to the new system once substantive staff have been assimilated. In total, this represents 14% of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s workforce which is covered by Agenda for Change.

NHS Staff

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS consultants received distinction awards in the most recent year for which information is available, broken down by (a) speciality and (b) level of award.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information relating to NHS consultants in receipt of distinction awards broken down by specialty and level of award is set out in the Annual Report of the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA). The latest Annual Report was published in April 2008 and is available on the SACDA section of the Scotland Health on the Web (SHOW) website at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sacda.

NHS Staff

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional cost to the NHS was of the element of NHS consultants’ retirement pensions arising from distinction awards in the most recent year for which information is available.

Nicola Sturgeon: We have been advised that the amount of any distinction award is not recorded by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) as a separate figure. The final pensionable salary, or for that matter, any salary is recorded as one entry of pay only in the members’ record and SPPA have no way of establishing the number of members who have a distinction award included in their salary.

NHS Staff

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the names of NHS consultants in receipt of distinction awards in the most recent year for which information is available, as is done in England and Wales.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information relating to NHS consultants in receipt of distinction awards is set out in the Annual Report of the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA). The latest annual report was published in April 2008 and is available on the SACDA section of the Scotland Health on the Web (SHOW) website at http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sacda .

National Conversation

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on the National Conversation.

Nicola Sturgeon: Expenditure on the National Conversation supports delivery of our manifesto commitment to give the Scottish people the opportunity to debate, reflect and then decide Scotland’s constitutional future in a referendum.

  The design, publication, translation and launch of Choosing Scotland’s Future cost approximately £48,000. National Conversation events organised and paid for by the Scottish Government have so far cost approximately £44,000, including a one-off cost for branding and staging materials which will be used throughout the conversation. Funding of £87,000 over two years has been made available to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and Young Scot to facilitate the National Conversation among the third sector and young people respectively.

  All expenditure on the National Conversation has been met from existing budgets.

Organ Donation

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people volunteered for organ donation in each month since March 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table gives the number of new names added to the NHS organ donor register in Scotland and in the UK as a whole in each month since March 2008:

  

 Month (2008)
 Scotland
 UK


 March
 54*
 80,804


 April
 49*
 122,963


 May
 39*
 104,205


 June
 48,019*
 105,221


 July
 10,423
 97,331


 August
 11,849
 101,664


 September
 12,551
 96,838


 October
 10,633
 72,615


 Total
 93,617
 781,641



  Source: NHS Blood and Transplant.

  Note: *Between March and May 2008 there was a delay between people in Scotland signing up to the register and their details being added, due to a hitch, which has now been rectified, in the process of adding the Community Health Index number to each registration.

Organ Transplants

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of cross-border transfer of organs for transplantation.

Nicola Sturgeon: No specific assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the cross-border transfer of organs for transplantation. This is because the allocation of organs is based on a UK-wide system which does not take specific account of the boundaries between countries. The arrangements are based on the principle of finding the best possible match for patients in order to achieve the optimal clinical outcome.

Parliamentary Questions

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide substantive answers to questions S3W-15898 to S3W-15908, which received holding replies on 12 September 2008.

Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to questions S3W-15898 to S3W-15908 on 5 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Parliamentary Questions

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-6776 by Bruce Crawford on 18 December 2007, whether an updated estimate of the financial cost of answering a written parliamentary question is available.

Bruce Crawford: Following a review by the Scottish Government Finance Administration, the average cost of answering a written parliamentary question is calculated to be £98.51. Full details can be found in the Study into the average cost of answering Scottish Government Parliamentary Questions copies of which have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46897).

Scottish Futures Trust

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when appointments of further members of the board of the Scottish Futures Trust are expected to be made.

John Swinney: I announced further appointments to the board of the Scottish Futures Trust on Friday 7 November.

Sectarianism

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16055 by Fergus Ewing on 2 October 2008, whether the £150,000 it awarded to Football for All was provided exclusively for the development of the Kick-out Bigotry campaign.

Fergus Ewing: The allocation of £150,000 to Football for All was to develop, administer and deliver the Kick-Out-Bigotry campaign, including the Weekend of Action on 24 to 25 November and the month long awareness campaign around Scottish Premier League football fixtures.

Student Finance

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was paid to students in higher education by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland through all means including loans, bursaries, grants and hardship/access funds and how many students received support in these ways in each year since 2002-03

Fiona Hyslop: The number of students supported by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and the amount of support they received in the form of tuition fees, tuition fee loans, awards and entitlement to maintenance loans in academic years 2002-03 to 2006-07 is given in table 1 of the publication Student Awards in Scotland 2006-07 , published on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/23093807/0 . In 2006-07 the number of students supported (excluding discretionary and child care funds) was 121,990 and the total support assessed was £440.8 million; 97% of loan amounts assessed were paid out. (table 6b of the same publication). This publication does not include Nursing and Midwifery students who are funded through the Scottish Government Health Directorate’s Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary Scheme (NMSB).

  The table below shows the amount spent to support higher education students through the Discretionary Fund (formerly Hardship Fund) and Childcare Fund (formerly Mature Student’s Bursary Fund) and the number of times support was provided. Discretionary funding is paid in addition to other forms of student support for Scottish domiciled students and is also available to eligible students from the rest of the UK who study in Scotland.

  

 
 
 Discretionary Fund
 Childcare Fund


 Instances of Assistance
 Amounts Issued by Institutions (£000)
 Instances of Assistance
 Amounts Issued by Institutions (£000)


 2002-03
 14,705
 6,128
 6,815
 5,018


 2003-04
 10,775
 6,415
 6,180
 5,899


 2004-05
 10,930
 6,794
 5,855
 6,537


 2005-06
 12,395
 9,970
 1,715
 3,094


 2006-07
 13,995
 11,360
 1,260
 3,228



  Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland Discretionary Fund Management Information.

  Note: "Instances of Assistance" have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, "Amounts Issued" have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  Individual identifying student details of payments from these funds are not held centrally and therefore there is a degree of overlap in the student numbers: students can receive help from both the Childcare and the Discretionary Fund in the same academic year; students are also able to receive help more than once from the same fund; student can receive discretionary funds and also receive the loans and awards reported in the first paragraph. The overlap does not affect amounts.

  Academic year 2006-07 is the latest for which data on students supported by SAAS and through the Discretionary and Childcare Funds is available.

Vaccinations

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many free flu vaccinations have been funded in 2008 and how many were funded in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The total number of free flu vaccines funded by the Scottish Government, based on claims for reimbursement by Community Pharmacists on the basis of vaccines dispensed, is detailed in the following table. Figures for flu season 2008-09 are not yet available.

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 84,548
 81,837
 72,982


 NHS Borders
 24,696
 28,063
 30,537


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 37,933
 35,302
 35,706


 NHS Fife
 75,050
 79,924
 80,949


 NHS Forth Valley
 63,374
 62,163
 66,864


 NHS Grampian
 95,375
 107,257
 104,260


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 260,986
 267,532
 256,826


 NHS Highland
 65,440
 66,574
 68,831


 NHS Lanarkshire
 102,288
 107,920
 101,219


 NHS Lothian
 157,189
 161,804
 155,688


 NHS Orkney
 3,929
 4,876
 4,948


 NHS Shetland
 3,816
 1,660
 1,625


 NHS Tayside
 85,869
 88,032
 84,967


 NHS Western Isles
 5,643
 6,743
 5,310


 Scotland
 1,066,136
 1,099,687
 1,070,712



  Source: Prescribing Information System, ISD Scotland (extracted 31 October 2008).

Vaccinations

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any reports it has received regarding adverse reactions to Cervarix, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: The safety of medicines available on the UK market is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA report that between 14 April 2008 and 5 November 2008 there have been 83 suspected Adverse Drug/Vaccine Reaction (ADR) reports received for Cervarix vaccine from Scotland. This is in line with what we would expect to see for a mass vaccination programme. The information is given on a national basis in order not to disclose information that may relate to an individual patient.

  The vast majority of suspected adverse reactions reported to MHRA in association with Cervarix vaccine have related either to the signs and symptoms of recognised side effects listed in the product information or were due to the injection process and not the vaccine itself. For the isolated cases of other medical conditions reported, the available evidence does not suggest the vaccine caused the condition.